US and Turkey meddling should be ignored while Syrian government works to free Idlib province from Islamic terrorists who’ve controlled the land and lives of 3 million Syrians since 2015-Moon of Alabama…(US has no business in Syria, but Trump threatened “massive attack” on Syria if it tried to rescue Idlib)

The losses of the Syrian army during the first phase were unacceptably high. This led to a change of tactics. The Syrian and Russian airforce began an extensive bombing campaign with hundreds of air and artillery strikes per day against jihadi positions. Drones were used to find mobile missile launchers hidden in fruit plantations and to direct artillery and bombers to those aims. ANNA News published several videos of the extensive campaign (1, 2, 3 – Engl.subs). The air campaign cost the jihadis a significant amount of material and personal. Only one of the attacking planes, a Syrian SU-22, was lost during the fight.

The Syrian army also began to make large night attacks. Its new T-90 and modernized T-72 tanks have excellent thermal night vision and can destroy targets at long distances. The infantry can proceed under their protection. Instead of fighting along roads from town to town the army moved to take high ground first and to proceed from there. Using flanking operations the troops broke through several prepared defense lines. The jihadis are now on the run. This ANNA video (engl.subs) shows the last week’s operation to liberate the town of Al Habit (Al Hobeit) and gives a good impression of the new tactics. The army has since moved further to the north east of Al Habit and took Kafr Ayn and Tell As.

Russia and Syria will continue to use this split between the various groups Turkey officially or unofficially supports to incite more infighting on the ‘rebel’ site. It proved to be one of their best weapons.

Recovering the area and Khan Shaykhun, a city with 35,000 pre-war inhabitants, will be a significant victory. But this operation is only the opening battle of a larger campaign. The rather slow breach of the frontline will now be turned into a dynamic campaign…

The Syrian army will pursue the fleeing jihadis along the M5 highway with a strong armored forces upfront and under the bombing cover of the airforce. Defended towns along the road can be enveloped from east and west, surrounded, and left to the following infantry for clean up. The run must not stop at least until the forces reach Saraquib at the merging of the M4 and M5 highway. The tactical deep battle can then be further developed to recover all of Idlib governorate.

To support the push from the south additional fronts must be opened west of Aleppo along the M5 and from Latakia in the west along the M4 highway through Jish ash Shugur and on to Saraqib. The battle to breach the frontline in Latakia has been ongoing for some time but a decisive breakthrough has yet to be achieved.